Reading a biography can reveal parallels that a novelist did not deliberately borrow. Glynn Stewart recalls finding several similarities between Rommel and Kyle Roberts after he was already two or three books into writing the character. He gives the example of getting a school girlfriend pregnant and leaving to join the military. This is his recollection of the biographical comparison, with the particular biography left unnamed.
Notable Point · 1:21:06-1:21:46
Unplanned parallels between a fictional officer and Rommel
A biography of Rommel surprises the novelist with similarities to a character he had already developed.